CASE STUDY: overwhelmed as a new mom & struggling with sleep

Septimus' sleep story...

As a first time mom, Vianca was anxious about how to take care of her baby, Septimus. Like all moms, she wanted only the best for him but unfortunately Vianca lacked physical support from her mother and other family members because they lived in another country.

The first few weeks with a newborn in the house were overwhelming. Vianca's husband was very supportive, but like his wife, he was feeling uncertain about their baby's sleep. He could see that Vianca was getting increasingly sleep deprived because she was breastfeeding Septimus every 2 hours during the day AND night. Vianca's anxiety was also increasing because everyday was a guessing game as to what her baby's cries meant.

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When it came to Septimus' nap timings and lengths, no two days were the same. The only way Vianca could settle her baby was to feed him to sleep and in order for him to stay asleep for a decent amount of time, she either had to hold him or co-sleep with him, which was taking both a physical and mental toll on her.

To be honest, I was going on each day taking of my newborn like a headless chicken. I didn't know what the most appropriate, if not the best, length of sleep was that a baby should get. I only knew he should be sleeping a lot of the time, and he wasn't.

By the time Septimus was 12 weeks old, Vianca was at her wits ends, so she started doing some online research about babies' naps, sleep, routines, etc. Luckily, in her search, she came across Little Ones and bought our Baby Sleep Program in the hope it would help her to get more predictability in her day, and of course - more sleep!

After following the sleep schedule in our Program, it only took around 3 weeks before Septimus was sleeping much better! Having a bit more structure to Septimus' day helped to ensure he was perfectly ready for sleep, which massively improved his settling and naps. Once he was getting the right balance of awake time and sleep during the day, he was able to sleep for longer stretches overnight too. Best of all, Vianca now knew what to expect each day:

Because of the predictability of my son's nap, sleep and awake times, my husband and I are able to arrange errands, household chores and social functions around his schedule; otherwise, I tweak his schedule to fit a specific day/night event. As a control freak, I am very pleased with this predictability despite a massive adjustment in our lifestyle having a new member of the family.

Once Septimus was settled into his new routine, we were also able to help Vianca gently guide her baby away from being fed to sleep, so that he could learn how to fall asleep independently - without any crying! This would help to ensure both mom and baby continued to get a good night's sleep.

Now, his body seems to know when it's nap time during the day and he falls asleep easily and on cue! My son is breastfed and was fed to sleep and now, at 22 weeks old, he's also got the hang of self-settling without having to cry. After winding down, when I put him in his crib, I can just leave him right away without drama! He can put himself to sleep in less than 5 minutes!

Being a new mother is extremely hard, especially if you don't have a solid support network or "village" around you. There is also a lot of conflicting advice out there around awake windows, settling techniques and best sleep practices. Vianca was struggling with the lack of predictability to her day and this, coupled with continued sleep deprivation, can make motherhood a frustrating experience.

Through our Sleep Program, Vianca not only achieved more sleep, she also gained more structure and predictability to her days, and the confidence that her baby was getting the sleep he needed. Of equal importance is that being rested and in a better head-space also improved Vianca's whole experience of motherhood!

I would just like to thank you, Amanda & Nicky, for sharing this whole program. For a first time mom like myself, this program has boosted my confidence to provide my son the utmost care - with methods that are backed with scientific logic. It is empowering to be able to predict a baby's sleep behaviour! More than my baby's sleep journey, it is MY journey as a mother that has been made wonderful through the support of Little Ones Sleep Program & Village. Hats off to you, ladies!

If you're struggling as a new mom and don't know where to start, our Sleep Programs can be your guide. You'll get instant solutions for your baby's sleep challenges, customisable schedules, comprehensive troubleshooting, gentle settling methods and more. In our Little Ones Village, you can also reach out to our expert sleep consultants for further advice, and connect with other parents from around the world.